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I am writing this report on what it was like at the much-anticipated queen stage of the Tour de France Femmes from the back seat of our rental car as we drive down the Col du Tourmalet in pitch-black darkness. The start of the day was a far cry from the frenetic conclusion – with its heated GC battle and the mystical touch added by mother nature – as it all began with a lie-in and relaxed morning because of the very late start to stage 7.
Eventually, however, my Cyclingnews colleague Kirsten Frattini, Cycling Weekly’s Tom Davidson, and I drove to Lannemezan. The small town on the foothills of the Pyrénées was filled to the brim by the Tour circus of technical crews, the advertisement caravan, spectators who wanted to drink in the atmosphere of a stage start, media, and of course the riders and teams themselves. Accredited vehicles were parked practically anywhere there was any space.
We got takeaway pizzas for a late lunch, and I went back to our car, sitting down in the shade of a tree to eat my meal. While there, the Movistar team bus and cars drove through at speed as if they were carrying royalty – which, in the cycling world, they kind of were.
When my colleagues had finished their scheduled interviews – stay tuned to find out who they talked to – we made our way south from the start town towards Bagnères-de-Bigorre and Sainte-Marie-de-Campan where the Tourmalet climb started. Appreciating the car’s air conditioning after the sweltering heat of Lannemezan, we passed several cyclists who were clearly also on their way to see the race.
Turning onto the race route at the foot of the Col du Tourmalet, we were blown away by the crowds. The road through the small mountain village was packed with spectators even though the race was still hours away. For the French people, this race isn’t the Tour de France Femmes – it’s simply the Tour de France and they came out in force to support the race.
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